Case C-617/10 Fransson (26 February 2013)

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Key Point

A national law is deemed to ‘implement’ a EU measure under Article 51(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights if it is obligated by a EU measure, even if it is not a transposition of the EU measure

F was subject to criminal proceedings for tax fraud brought against him after he had already gotten tax fines
F alleged the tax fines were criminal in nature and thus his right under Article 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights not to be tried or punished twice for a criminal conviction were violated
The Swedish Court made preliminary reference as to whether Article 50 applied in this case
The Charter states in Article 51(1), that it is addressed to member states only when they are ‘implementing’ EU law
Member states are obligated under Council Directive 2006/113/EC to collect VAT and under Article 325 TFEU to counteract financial fraud
However, Swedish national legislation for tax penalties and criminal proceedings had not been adopted to transpose the directive

Although the Charter applied to F’s case, it was up to the national courts to determine whether tax proceedings are criminal or civil in nature

The Court has no power/jurisdiction to examine the compatibility with the Charter of national legislation lying outside the scope of EU law
In the current case, the legislation for tax penalties and criminal proceedings for tax evasion constitute implementation for the purposes of Article 51(1) even though they have not been adopted to transpose the Directive (‘the fact cannot call that conclusion into question’)
In such cases where the Charter is implemented for the purpose Article 51(1), national courts can apply their own level of protection of fundamental rights as long as the primacy EU law is not compromised

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